Russian President Putin vows victory in war as West wavers on Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin said Russia remains determined to achieve its military aims in Ukraine, as divisions over US and European aid threaten to undermine Kyiv’s ability to repel the invasion.
 

“There’ll be peace when we achieve our goals,” Putin said Thursday at his televised marathon news conference. “They don’t change,” he said, repeating claims that the unprovoked attack was carried out to secure the “denazification, demilitarisation of Ukraine and its neutral status.”
 

Putin is holding the news conference for the first time since he ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Despite catastrophic Russian troop losses that US intelligence this week estimated to be 315,000 dead and wounded, Putin continues to enjoy widespread public support for the war that was meant to deliver victory within days and is now in its 22nd month. 
 

After ordering an unpopular mobilisation of 300,000 reservists last year, Putin ruled out a repeat of the call-up for now. Answering a question from a Russian journalist, the president said 486,000 people had signed contracts to join the army so far, exceeding a target set by the government, and together with volunteers the number would rise to half a million by year-end. “Why do we need a mobilisation? There is no need,” he said.
 

The longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin announced last week that he’ll run for a fifth term as president in March elections to extend his rule to 2030. With opponents in jail or exile amid the harshest Kremlin crackdown in decades, Putin is certain to win the tightly controlled vote. Officials aim to portray the election as an endorsement of the war he’s cast as a confrontation with the US and its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies to prevent Ukraine joining Nato. 
 

Russia is willing to restore “full-fledged relations” with the US, though the time isn’t right for that yet, Putin said. “But we are ready for it.” He disclosed that Russia and the US are in “ongoing” dialogue over a possible deal to swap prisoners, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.